SCHOOL spending in Scotland is consistently the highest in the UK, yet its educational results fail to match it, according to the UK’s leading economic thinktank.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) found core spending per pupil was around £7,500 in 2020/21 in Scotland, compared to £6,700 in England, £6,600 in Wales and £6,400 in Northern Ireland.
It found spending fell across all four nations of the UK after the 2008/09 crash, picked up in Scotland from 2014, but kept falling in the rest of the UK until 2018.
In real terms, spending per pupil in Scotland is some 6 per cent higher than 2009/10, but roughly the same or below that level in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
While Scotland saw “a significantly higher level of school spending”, the other nations have suffered a “remarkable squeeze” on resources over more than a decade.
However IFS research fellow and report author Luke Sibieta said: ‘Higher spending need not automatically translate into better educational outcomes.
"Indeed, international comparisons of test scores suggest numeracy and science test scores were declining in high-spending Scotland relative to the OECD average up to 2018.
“It remains to be seen whether extra spending in Scotland since 2018 will arrest this trend."
SNP MSP Kaukab Stewart, a registered teacher, said: “These figures demonstrate the commitment the SNP Scottish Government continues to make to Scotland’s pupils and ensuring that each and every one of them has the opportunity to excel in their education.
“This investment is paying off.
"School buildings are in the best condition since records began, teacher numbers are higher than they’ve been since 2008, this year the number of Higher passes was at its highest since devolution, the number of Scottish students accepted to university is at a record high, and much more.
“As we move out of the pandemic and into recovery it is vital that our schools are put on a footing to continue to get the best for Scotland’s young people.
“Closing the poverty-related attainment gap remains one of the SNP government’s defining missions. That’s why, over the course of this parliament, we will invest a further £1 billion, with a refreshed Scottish Attainment Challenge.
“This shows that you can trust the SNP in government to continue to provide the best funded education system in the UK and ensure that every child has the best start in life.”
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